Method of utilizing fuel



H. RODMAN.

METHOD OF UTILIZING FUEL. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22. m5.

I I INVENTOR. f 2 Na @www BY/\\-'- M HIS ATTDRNEY IN FACT} Patented Mar. :23, 1920.

HUGH RODMAN, OF EDGEWOOD, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO RODMAN CHEMICAL COMPANY, OF EAST PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA,

SYLVAN IA.

Application filed June 22, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUGH RoDMAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Edgewood, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have made a new and useful Invention in Method of Utilizing Fuel, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the utilization of fuel, particularly of coking coal, and discloses a new and improved process therefor.

It has been proposed to burn or'partially burn solid fuelpfh-ile tumblingit and passing it through ajf rotary 7 process is attemptedwit cokingcoal which passes through viscous state before assuming a rigidcokecondition a prohibitive difficulty is encountered. The tumbling and traveling mass of coal, gradually heated, becomes sticky and viscous and at some zone in the kiln adheres to the walls so as to impede or stop the flow of fuel and gases.

My invention overcomes this diiliculty. It consists in introducing the coal into a relatively large mass of tumbling, nonviscous heated material, previously formed coke. By this means the coal is coked while tumbling with the already heated mass without adhering to the I kiln containing it.

walls of the furnace or v The coal may be so introduced into the tumbling masses to avoid the formation of large coke lumps; in fact, the process can be so regulated as to make coke of pea size if desired, which operation will be referred to later.

, structed that the incoming coal will fall upon a relatively large mass of hot coke and be tumbled therewith until the coal has passed through the viscous state. This is accomplished by constructing the kiln so that the feed end will hold a deep bed of fuel, as distinguished from the ordinary shallow bed, and preferably by forming the Specification of Letters Patent.

kiln. When this such for example as revolutions per A CORPORATION 01? PENN- METI-IOD OF UTILIZING FUEL.

Patented Mar. 23, 1920. Serial No. 35,594. Y kiln so that the feed end will be in effect a reverberatory furnace and reflect heat upon the bed of material receiving the coal.

The kiln-illustrated'in Fig. 1 as the pre-' ferred form for carrying out this invention consists of a rotatable cylinder 4;, which is enlarged at the feed end to form a chamber 5 similar in. shape to the frustum of a cone. In my copending application, Serial Number 35,592, filed June 22, 1915, I have illustrated diagrammatically a kiln of similar form and have described a process of coking coal which is based on theprocess herein described. The

kiln of the drawings 1n the present application consists of a metal shell 6 which is lined brick 7 or some The base of the throughout with fire other refractory material. frustum-shaped chamber 5 is provided with a feed opening 8, which is of less diameter than the cylindrical dis charge portion or chamber 9 of the kiln. As illustrated, the kiln is provided externally with supporting annular tires 10, each of which is ers or flanged wheels 11. a The kiln is also provided around its periphery with a irth gear 12 which meshes with a driving pinion 13. Any suitable means may be employed for drivin the pinion, but as illustrated, I have provided a direct "connected motor 14.

In operation the kiln is rotated at relatively low speed, such for example as 10 minute for a 6 foot diameter kiln, and coal and air are admitted to the chamber 5 through the feed opening 8. The coal so admitted falls upon a tumbling mass of hot material and tumbles therewith until it has at least passed through its viscous state. The gases evolved by the coking coal are partially or completely burned in the chamber 5 with the incoming air and the heat generatedservcs to maintain the temperature of the tumbling mass. This is also aided by the reflection and radiation of heat from the inclined furnace wall which performs the functions of a reverberatory furnace. The coal in tumbling with the heated mass, passes through its viscous state and becomes coke without adhering to the furnace walls and without building up unwieldy masses or agglomerates.

In carrying out my process for obtaining complete combustion of fuel, I prefer to mounted upon two or more roll regulate the draft and feed so that'coking on takes place in the chamber 5. ,--Under suc conditions the coke agglomerates pass.

from the chamber: 5, into the chamber 9 where complete combustion occurs. The

ditiona air may be admitted at any oint I taining the tumbling bed about eighteen *inches deep at the feed end and one or two to burn thealonglthe chamber 9 or to the'hot gases eavin t e discharge openin 15. have usedsuch a kin for the produc tion of pea size coke of low density by maininches ,deep' at the discharge end of the chamber 5, and by admittin ases evolved an maintain the tumbling be y y. we

any industrial operation in which it is necessary to pass coal 'throu hits viscous state. I may, for example, pr uce dense coke by employing a drum of large diameter and,

thereby maintaining a deep mass of heated .materialin the chamber 5. This may also be accomplished by maintaining a tumbling -mass of considerable weight, such as a mass of iron balls or similar material in the chamber 5 upon which the 'coal is-fed." i I The process may also be utilized for the production oicoke together with the recovcry of byroducts, the tumbling bed being maintain teningl point of the coal by means of any desired eating device. For instance, the tumbling drum maybe heated externally to about 850 F., or it may be heated by blowing heated non-oxidizing device. Such gases wil gases through the preferably consist of previously distilled gases which have had their valuable byroducts as ammonia and 55,

at a coking tem erature, but not enough air to burn the co e produced. In making such coke I prefer to shorten the chamber 9 or do away with it entirely, since; 25

at abtemperature above the sofof producin coke of either high or low density, it may e desirable to partially heat the coal prior to delivering 1t to the coking 'chambergj'g Where this is desirable I may employ a kiln, such as is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 2, which consists of an ordinary cylindrical kiln, except that it is enkiln is provided with a pre-heating chamber 16, into which the fuel to be coked is fed. The delivery end of thischamber communicates with an enlarged chamber 5, in which tained.

The delive end of the chamber 5 com- ?municates wit a chamber 9, which is similarboth in construction and functions performed to the chamber 9 of Fig. l. The es- {sential feature of this kiln is that the chamber 16 must be so roportioned as to length it merely 'performs the function of a .discharge passage for the coke roduced'. The" JcOke as delivered is cool I known means such as a water spray. While I havede'scribed my process as apr plied to complete combustion andto the ro- "duction of coke of low density, it wil obvious that the process may be employed in that the coal will e delivered by it to the state.

What I claim is:

1. The method of utilizing coking coal which consists in feeding crushed coking coal into a heated tumbling mass of separate non-viscous particles, the mass being of sufiicient size relatively to the amount of coal fed thereto to insure a separation of the coal during the rocess of coking, in subjecting the coal to t e tumbling action of said mass as it passes through the viscous state.

2. The method of utilizing coking coal which consists in feeding crushed coking coal into a heated tumbling mass of separate non-viscous particles of previously coked coal of sufficient size, relatively to the amount of coal fed thereto to insure separation of the coal particles during the cokmg process, in subjpcting the coal toa coking temperature w ile tumblin in said mass and in dis charging the coke products from the surface of the tumbling mass.

3. The method of utilizing coking coal which consists in continuously feeding partia mass of non-viscous hot material is maincles of coking coal into a tumbling mass of a perature While tumbling with said mass and in discharging the coke product from the surface of said mass.

5. The process of utilizing coking coal Which consists in continuously feeding particles of coking coal into a hot and tumbling mass of non-viscous particles, the mass being of sufficient size relatively to the amount of coal fed thereto to insure separation of the particles of uncoked coal as they pass through the viscous state, coking the coal While subjecting it to the tumbling action of said muss, discharging the coke prod not from the surfaceof said mess and in burning the coke so discharged.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 21 day of June, 1915.

HUGH RODMAN. 

